


The Two Fools

by Hira_Pen



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Ending, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 07:17:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17199026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hira_Pen/pseuds/Hira_Pen
Summary: (Spoilers for December portion of the game)Formerly The Trickster and The False God form a deal, that reforms the world into one where there's no place for rebellion. Only peace and justice, or whatever that means to him, as he has forsaken his role and title, to lead the world to his own perfect ideal. At the cost of the freedom of everyone, including those around him.However... A threat to his justice looms over from the distance, in the form of a rat, who survived the sinking ship courtesy of help beyond mind and matter.





	The Two Fools

“Let's make a deal… ok? You won't say no… will you?”

“Why at… a time like this?”

I can feel their heartbeats through the thick metal wall separating us. Their wishes, hopes, and hatred. I knew I was a fool all along… as… their words have reached me, and changed my cold shriveled corpse of a heart, which realized there's no way out other than this. My crimes will never be erased... but I hope... my words reach him.

“Change… Shido’s heart… in my stead. End his crimes… please!” I declare my promise through the solid partition, hoping my words reach Joker, like his few, but… sincere words reached me.

But...

Something… something isn't right.

“Leave it to me,” he replies… and his voice. With each syllable it grew quieter. I nod in response.

“So… my final enemy is a puppet version of myself… not bad.” My handgun points towards my father's cognitive perception of me. My index finger ready to fire at any moment. My consciousness grew hazy, my vision blurs, the ship’s interior barely tangible.

  
“Akechi-kun!”

  
Two gunshot sounds. Swift, quick and dull. Pain with the intensity that can only belong to a firearm burrows into my forehead…

Or so I’ve anticipated.

The bullet… stops mid-flight, and cognitive me, the shadow bodyguards and hounds, the ship, the world… time itself…

Has come to a halt.

“You must be very confused right now.”

A little girl with white-like blond hair, and striking yellow eyes, wearing blue appears in front of me. My heart pounds faster and faster, like a desperate prisoner pounding at his sturdy cell bars.

"Who... are you? Are you coming to take me to the afterlife? Is Joker alright?"

“No. No to both. He has… or will have forsaken his role, for he has sealed a deal with a false God. What you're experiencing before you is history rewriting itself.”

The background silence becomes louder and more profound the more she spoke, jackhammering through my ears, ringing and ringing, however gentle her voice is.

“I… what do you mean a deal?.. My deal with him is he'd end all this..”

She extends her palm. My consciousness fading more, along with where I’m standing, as the ringing grew, and my mind fogs.

“Take my hand... Or else you'll fade along with the world.”

I… froze. A false God?.. Forsaken his role?.. A million questions rise from the foggy state of mind, trying to connect the dots. My conversations with him... his determination to protect and keep his teammates safe... his anecdotes about justice and what it means to him... it is all for naught?

“AKECHI!”

Her voice and stinging palm snaps me out of my trance. How does she… know my name?..

“You know what… you moronic, cowardly, arrogant rat...”

She swiftly takes my hand as swift as her calm switches to anger, reluctant, but with the urgency of a bomb threat...wait no... a nuclear threat. The kind that ends worlds.

"I'm taking my chances with you."

And everything fades to white.

...

I awaken to what seems to be a tiny wooden hut, but blue in hue, the shade dark. The 3 windows on each side of the supposed hut show a landscape filled with fog. I find myself sat in a chair, in front of me, a frail looking table, a dark violet-blue tome with gold accents on top of it, titled "Le Grimoire", on the opposite end, the petite pale blonde-haired girl with the yellow eyes. A futon is laid left of the table from my eyes, next to it, sacks of what seems to be food. Bread most likely. A drawer is on the opposite of the building, clothes? The air is an odd sense of calm, no thanks to the predicament we're in, but calm.

"Where.. am-"

"Let's get straight to the point. My name is Lavenza. And welcome to The Velvet Hideout."

Of course, a hideout. The sense of calm breaks as I notice I'm tied to the back of the chair, my outfit a mess, with only my school shirt and pants, no bloodstains, but a tad dusty, as if I had a scuffle with gang members or the police.

I sigh.. while remembering all that transpired from hours, weeks ago, or maybe these past 2 years.

"Why am I not dead yet, Lavenza-san?"

"Because I need you, and no need to call me with honorifics. Just Lavenza is fine." She's back to her calm demeanor, showing no sentiment, or trying not to.

"For what then... Lavenza?"

"I've said it already, but do you need a refresher, rat?" her voice kept unraised, but stings nevertheless.

"I... I don't believe you." She raises her eyebrow at my retort.

"You rob me of death, the final nail in the coffin for my lengthy miserable life as an unwanted bastard murderer son who had been nothing but a leech to the people around me, tie me to a chair, in the middle of goddamn nowhere, and expect me to listen to you. Listen to you.. and believe that the m-man behind everything, the reason why the group called 'Th-he Phantom Thieves of Hearts' exist and operate full force to begin with... After all that.. you say he's forsaken his role, and made a pact with a supposed 'False God', despite our deal to end Shido's crimes, do you expect me to believe all that?!"

All of my shouting and shaking, and she doesn't flinch even slightly.

"Alright... I see. Let me explain. First off, on Shido, "good" news, he kept his end of the bargain, albeit with a more... violent approach, but his teammates held him back from firing the shot. The bad... well... bad doesn't even begin to describe... is that he can and will not hesitate to take the same measure to everyone."

The same... measure? He.. almost shot him?..

"He had his own... change of heart, or maybe he was that sick and twisted from the very beginning, who knows. That sly weasel tricked you all and yes... you too evidently, living up to his title of "Trickster", in a way that left a bad taste in my mouth. Tokyo, and soon... all of Japan... and later, the entire world will be devoid of free will. No one will be able to take action against him, even if he commits atrocities, like changing the hearts of witnesses, judges in court, diet members, all to his whim, even if it's for the worse."

I... I'm speechless. I thought.. I.. was the bad guy. But no. I'm just the red herring. Wait... No...no no no no... I have to see this for myself.

"We're safe here, as we're between mind and matter, despite my limited capabilities, as my master, Igor isn't with me. Eventually, this room will dissolve. A contingency plan in case of an emergency like this can only do so much."

"Alright, suppose you're right. How do you know all this is true? What happened after the Thieves left me in that ship? Who is... Amamiya Ren to you? And... Why me? Prove to me that you're correct. Explain how he supposedly betray us."

She subtly winces at the mention of his name, resuming the order of events, explaining the Thieves' attempt to travel into the depths of Mementos, hoping to find the Public's Treasure, and eventually finding the Holy Grail and all of them being utterly defeated, Joker ending up in the original Velvet Room. She then explains how she used to be split in two, unaware of her true identity, and then, it's revealed that a malevolent entity was masquerading as her master all along. The true form of the Holy Grail, Yaldabaoth. The God of Control.

"You know of his ability, right? The wildcard? How he has multiple personas?"

I nod. She explains her master and her role as Joker's "rehabilitators," overseeing his actions and helping him cultivate his power.

"The both of you were granted that power by Yaldabaoth. For the sake of an experiment. A game. A bet against Igor, you the villain, and our Trickster, the supposed hero, to see whether or not humanity will fall into ruin. Whether or not the Trickster wins, he had the intention to enslave humanity regardless. Of course, he was triumphant, and in the end, Shido was subdued, but... things still looked bad for humanity, but nevertheless, he kept powering on, and... as a last ditch effort to win.."

"Yaldabaoth's supposed deal?"

"Yes. His deal to... was that he reverts the city back to before, turning back the hands of time. Altering the course of events so that The Phantom Thieves gain fame, praise and power, at the cost of people's will being left to stagnate, and The Thieves.. of Hearts, well.. Thief of Hearts become the absolute moral standard... the one that decides right or wron-"

"Wait. Thief? His teammates..."

"He... He left them to rot in the original Velvet Room, a prison for them to be in for all eternity."

That sentence left me bitter, inside and out.

"Now do you see why I took you from the lost timeline? You're the only card that we can play against him. Before you faced the end, you had the power to go toe to toe with all of the Phantom Thieves alone, losing only because of being outnumbered and Joker's expertise in handling the wild card's power, him defeating me before in a duel as the twin wardens. You're the only one I can put my faith on."

"But-"

"DON'T PLAY WITH ME, AKECHI." She slammed the table as the sentence striked me full force, pushing me back to my chair, despite being tied to it.

"Now..."

The ropes loosen, the chair thrown outside the door with the force of a hurricane, forcing me to stand up, somehow reinvigorated, and the room expands.

My metaverse outfit manifests... but... something's different. The upper portion of the black mask still remains, but... everything else changed. A black long sleeve top, accented with gold lines, a pair of black gloves reaching halfway of my lower arm, following the gold accent motif, black pants, a pair of boots fastened with belts, and to top it off... A full length cape. So... I'm the anti-hero.

"Show me what you're made of, rat."

She flips open the tome... and calls forth a-

"Persona!"


End file.
